Bonaire Animal Shelter

October 29, 2004 issue of the BonaireReporter - Animal Sterilization Program a Huge success

It was a community-wide effort and a lot of good work was done sterilizing dogs who are present and future puppy factories. The turnout of residents bringing in dogs was impressive. As of Tuesday morning, the 26th, 151 dogs were sterilized, mostly females (nine males). Many of the females were already pregnant, at least two with 10 pups each. A number of the dogs were malnourished and anemic. One female’s life was saved by the program when it was discovered that she had a diseased uterus that would have eventually killed her. Everyone has been very enthusiastic – the vets, the volunteers and those people from the community who brought in the dogs.

Dr. Mary Lovie, who has been part of sterilization programs all over the world, said she was impressed with the “fabulous organization, the volunteers, the whole program.” Others added, “As we work together everything goes smoother and smoother.” All the vets brought their own instruments, but due to the stringent security laws in the US the vets from the US and Canada couldn't’t bring medicines but did bring operating room materials (sutures, bandages, pads, rubber gloves, etc.) The Dutch vet, however, was able to bring all the medications. Volunteer vets are: Mary Lovie and Cheryl Yuill, Canada; Charlie Brown, Trisha Durrance and Tom Nemetz, US; Hans Lambeek, Holland.

Thanks to all the generous volunteers and donors who have made the Sterilization Program a huge success.

November 5, 2004 issue of the BonaireReporter - Animal Sterilization Program - Final Results

In the last two weeks, thanks to a multitude of volunteers and sponsors the Bonaire Animal Shelter sterilized 222 dogs, of which 13 were males. As Shelter Manager Jurrie Mellema said, “Now those 222 dogs are done and countless unwanted puppies have been saved from the street. We couldn’t have done it without the help of the whole community.” He added, “There were 20 volunteers who were motivated and got better and better once they got the hang of it. They helped make it happen.”

There were numerous dogs that were ALREADY pregnant, and at least 10 females were discovered to have had uterus problems that would have resulted in an early and painful death.

Especially pleased with the results were Walter Stark and Mary DiSanza who had tried valiantly to organize such a sterilization program 10 years ago. Mary is a devoted volunteer who handles the lost and found dogs.

What’s next? Jurrie says there are applications for 70 cats, both male and female, that need to be sterilized. “We even have (operating room) materials left over,” he said.

THANKS! It never could have happened without the help of all these sponsors who offered dive tanks, cars, rooms, meals, etc. etc. etc. Please accept an apology if you were forgotten, it was unintentional, but so many people helped it was just overwhelming. This list is not made in order of importance:

The photos and stories appeared in The Bonaire Reporter, The Islands English Language Weekly. The newspaper is available free on Bonaire and available with a subscription online at The Bonaire Reporter